The Cyclone Watch
November 2019
Principal Updates
Also, CPS will have teacher professional development opportunities on October 31 and November 1. As such, we will not have school on those two days. Please make plans for your student accordingly.
We are rapidly approaching Parent Teacher Conferences. We will be hosting Parent Teacher Conferences on November 12 and 14, from 3:00-6:00p.m. each night. Teachers will be sending out information this week regarding specifics for meeting with families. We look forward to a big turn out and sharing about your student's progress this semester.
As we get in to this time of the school year, it is important for students to keep their focus and keep up a strong push toward the end of the semester. We want all students to perform well and for that to happen we need excellent attendance. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help foster your child's success as we complete the semester.
Math Counts
Math Counts is working hard to prepare for our competition season. Our only first semester contest will be Wednesday November 13, so you still have time to join!! Come on out and have some fun with competitive math!! See Ms. Gladura in Room 119 for a practice schedule, and Go Cyclones!
Zombie Defense League
Pink-A-Licious Bake Sale!
JMS Family and Consumer Science Classes baked for a good cause in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Seventh and Eighth grade FACS Classes raised a combined $180.50 by baking, packaging and selling their baked goods at an 8th grade and 7th grade Volleyball game. Proceeds go to the Harris Breast Cancer Center at Boone Hospital, our JMS Partners in Education!
Upcoming Choral Events
November 19: Fall Into Reading performance at Barnes & Noble at 6:30pm – 6th Grade Honors Choir
December 16: Winter Choir Concert at Rock Bridge High School at 7:00pm – 7th & 8th Grade Choirs
December 17: 6th Grade Honors Choir performance at Hickman High School at 7:00pm – 6th Grade Honors Choir
December 19: 7th Grade Choir trip to see Wicked in St. Louis at The Fox Theatre – leaving JMS at 12:30pm, returning at 12:30am
Media Center News
The media center is AMAZING! We have more kids hanging out before school every week. Word is spreading about all we have to do down here as well as how happy the kids who hang out here in the media center are. We have added a bunch of new books for student checkout. The books are displayed in multiple locations throughout our space. We have also added tic tac toe and banana gram games to our game collections. Students are welcome to play these games before school every morning. We will be having our candy count on October 28-30. Students get one guess a day. The student who is the closest wins the whole thing.
iPad News
Cyclone Book Club
Book club continues to meet on the last Thursday of the month. We will have our October meeting on October 24. We will meet in the media center right after school. We talk books, read books and hang out together. Mrs. Kiley is the sponsor and students are welcome to attend if they have missed the first two meetings. We always welcome new students. Please bring a book to read as students read during these meetings.
Arts and Murals - STEAM Class
We want our hallways filled with color and creativity which will help make our school more inviting and fun for our students. Making locker murals is also a way to show personality through art. Students will draw and plan designs they hope to place on their lockers. Students must get their plans approved by the Arts and Murals teacher first, and then they can execute their plan. Students can use colored pencils or markers on paper to create a mural to cover the front of their locker, and then they will laminate their final creations and attach them to their locker. The locker mural can later be a unique decoration piece to bring home and use to add to your own room decor. Jefferson Middle School is our second home, and we can make it more personal by expressing ourselves through art on our lockers. Students can take the murals home at the end of the year to remember all the good memories made while at JMS.
Nurses Notes
HOW MUCH SLEEP DO CHILDREN NEED?
Sleeping well is often a result of having good sleeping habits. A child’s sleeping pattern affects the entire family. This is why good sleeping habits and rules about bedtime are important.
According to Web MD, a middle school-aged child may need between 8-11 hours of sleep every night. When establishing a bedtime routine, it is important to bear in mind what time the child must go to school in the morning and how long it will take them to get ready and travel to school. This way, the child will get a goods night’s sleep and feel rested in the morning. If not, your child may not get the most out of school.
Trying to get a tired child out of bed every morning is a hassle. Parents/guardians must decide on a suitable bedtime for the child’s sake. Electronic devices should not be used for one full hour prior to bedtime. The light that comes from devices disrupts the brain as it prepares for sleep. I have been told by several students that they stay up until after midnight playing video games or playing games on their iPad. As a parent, best practice is to be certain that these electronic devices are not a temptation and put them away at bedtime.
Many children come to school already tired before the day starts. This makes it difficult for the teacher and child to have a productive day. Help your child develop proper sleeping habits to promote a positive learning environment.
**PLEASE remember to provide your middle school student with a single dose of an over the counter pain reliever in a bottle or foil packet labeled by the manufacturer. Many of you have had to leave work to bring your student headache medication. **
Feel free to email me at ECramer@cpsk12.org Betty Cramer, RN, BSN
More From The Nurse
It is NOT too soon to get your future 8th grade student immunized!
The State of Missouri requires ALL 8th grade students to receive the Tdap and Meningitis vaccines. A child can be given these shots any time after age 10. Please submit written proof of the vaccines to the school nurse.
**If your student did not participate in the school flu vaccine clinic on October 23rd, you can still get a FREE flu shot at the Boone County Health Department at 1005 West Worley Street. **
New Phone Number? Tell the school! We must have current contact information on file in case of illness or injury.
T-NADO News
T-NADO will be running our annual Food Drive for the Central Missouri Food Bank on November 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th . STEAM classes will be competing to see who can raise the most money/food and the class that raises the most money/food will win a catered breakfast from Hy-Vee. Please help us make the holidays good for everyone in Boone County.
T-NADO and Student Council will be going ice skating at the Washington Park Ice Arena on Friday December 13th (change of date) so mark your calendars and listen to the announcements for when permission forms are available. Don’t worry if you have never been skating, we can help you. The peppermint hot chocolate will really get you in the mood for the holidays.
Sixth Grade Update!
~ Parent/Teacher Conferences ~
Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences will be held during the evenings of Tuesday, November 12th and Thursday, November 14th. These conferences will be student-led in an open-house format. Students will share the learning portfolios they’ve created and their semester reflections. Look more information coming home with your child soon!
~ Curriculum Update ~
English:
In English, we are currently writing world problems stories. We read picture books around issues of racism, illiteracy, deforestation, etc. We brainstormed a list of issues students care about. The list goes from smoking, texting while driving and bullying to racism, war and abuse. We’ve written and talked at length about how authors use books to influence others for good.
Students are now beginning to write their own stories where a character encounters a world problem and must deal with it in some way. Students know that the book should be appropriate for elementary students, and we have talked about how we can hint at problems without being graphic. We will focus on how we raise awareness of these issues while shining hope for a solution. Students were encouraged to investigate how people and organizations are currently working to solve the problem they selected, however, finding this information easily, in a 6th grade reading level and interest level, has been problematic. We will brainstorm possible solutions together.
During this unit, we will learn about narrative writing. Students will learn techniques for crafting introductions and conclusions, how to incorporate details and dialogue, and will study the structure of narrative stories.
Math 6:
In Math 6 with Ms. Urie, Mrs. Boggs, and Ms. Cooper, students have completed their Fractions unit. During this unit they learned how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide fractions. Students also completed a fractions project that assessed their skills on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Next unit we will be learning about integers. Students will learn how to compare and order integers, understand absolute value, and plot ordered pairs on a four-quadrant Cartesian plane.
Advanced Math 6:
In Advanced Math 6 with Ms. Urie and Mrs. Boggs, students have completed their Let’s Be Rational (Fractions) unit. During this unit they learned how to multiply and divide fractions, including how reduce their answers. Students also completed a fractions project that assessed their skills on adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Next unit we will be learning about integers in our Accentuate the Negative unit. Students will learn how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide integers.
Science:
In Science class, students are preparing for their Astronomy Test that will be on October 24th. After Astronomy the students will be starting a brand new unit, Force and Motion. We would like to ask that if you have a spare pumpkin that you do not need after Halloween, we would like to use them for an experiment. The experiment will take place the week of November 4th.
Social Studies:
We are just finishing up our Prehistory Unit in Social Studies. Throughout this unit, students learned about the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculturally based civilizations. Students participated in a two-day simulation which challenged them to acquire the necessary resources to survive in a prehistoric time period. It was a lot of fun! They quickly realized why humans started living in groups. We will end our unit discussing the characteristics of civilization. Students will be working on a mini project that proves Columbia meets those criteria. Our Prehistory test will be Tuesday, October 29th. Our next unit will be Mesopotamia!
JMS Basketball Cheerleading
Clinics/Try-Outs will be held the week of October 21st for current 7th and 8th graders who are interested in Basketball Cheerleading. Students must have a current physical, passing grades, and the Permission Slip signed to try out. If you have questions, email Coach Urie at curie@cpsk12.org or Coach Kendall at jkendall@cpsk12.org .
- Clinics – October 22nd and 24th
- We will teach you everything you need to know during the Clinics.
- Clinics will be held from 2:45 PM to 4:45 PM in the Media Center.
- Ride pick-up point: North Side of JMS – Please no late rides!
- Please wear your hair in a neat ponytail and absolutely NO JEWELRY.
- Bring a water bottle and please wear gym clothes and tennis shoes.
- Try-Outs – October 25th
- You will try-out with one other student.
- You may leave as soon as your tryout is over (everyone will be done by 4:00 PM).
- You will perform two sideline chants, two jumps, and either another jump or a tumbling routine.
- Wear a RED t-shirt and black gym shorts on October 25th for try-outs.
- Results will be emailed to cheerleaders by 8 PM on October 25th.
Jefferson Middle School
Email: gcaine@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Page/33
Location: 713 Rogers Street, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: 573-214-3210